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Causative Verbs and DIY

Reviewing causative verbs have, get, let, and make.

1. Warm up
Who does these things in your household:
you, a friend or family member, or a professional.

a. Change the car battery. c. Replace a light bulb.

b. Fix a broken chair. d. Install a shelf.

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2. Vocabulary for DIY

A. Match the underlined verbs in phrases 1-8 to definitions a-h.

1. ______ Fix a leak. a. To add paint, wallpaper or accessories to a room to change its appearance.

2. ______ Service a car. b. To place items on the wall such as shelves, curtains and pictures.

3. ______ Change a lock. c. To look and see everything is correct and operating as normal.

4. ______ Replace a light bulb. d. To install appliances or goods.

5. ______ Decorate a room. e. To exchange one item for another.

6. ______ Put up some shelves. f. To have an item professionally checked over and approved.

7. ______ Put in an alarm system. g. To repair something that is broken.

8. ______ Check car oil. h. To put something new in place of something old.

B. Match the underlined verbs above to the correct group of nouns to make job collocations.

1. a boiler / a car / a motorbike.

2. car oil / a car battery.

3. a room / an apartment / a house / a Christmas tree.

4. a dishwasher / an alarm system.

5. a leak / a computer / the roof of your house.

6. / a light bulb / a bicycle tire / a fuse.

7. a shelf / a mirror / a picture.

C. How handy are you? Ask 10 ‘can you’ questions to quiz your partner about the jobs above.
For every job they can do, award them one point.

D. Add up your partner’s score. How do you compare with others in your class?

My score is: My partner’s score is:

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 E. Check your score below. Discuss the results with your partner. Notice emphasized phrases.

0: DIY DISASTER! 1-4: ODD JOBS ARE OK. 5-7: YOU ARE HANDY. 8+: DIY PRO!

Your DIY skills are a little
lacking and you are not
very handy with a hammer.
The thought of decorating
makes you break out into
a cold sweat. Best to let
others take the reins when
it comes to construction.
You can change a light bulb
although anything beyond
this you prefer to get things
done by a professional. You
know your limits and are
happy to put your feet up
and let the pros do their
thing!
You definitely know your
way around a tool box and
watching DIY shows on TV
makes you want to get the
power tools out! If there’s
a problem, you don’t get
someone else in to fix it,
you tackle it yourself!
You are a pro! There is
nothing you can’t fix! You
don’t let someone else
get all the glory, you don’t
have your car serviced by
another mechanic, you can
do these things with your
eyes closed!

3. Causative Verbs: Have, Let, Make, and Get.

ͲͲENGLISH TIP
Causative verbs are verbs that show the reason something happened. They do no indicate something the subject did
for themselves, instead something the subject had, let, made, or got someone or something else to do for them.

A. Complete phrases 1-4 with do, to do, or done and match them to definitions a-d. Check the
text in bold in Part 2E above for help.
a. Things we pay others to do. c. Things we allow others to do.

b. Things we ask a friend or family member to do. d. Things that are created, forced or required.

1. ______ Let someone something.

2. ______ Make someone something.

3. ______ Get someone something.

4. ______ Have / get something by someone.

B. Complete sentences 1-4 with the correct form of the verb in brackets. Use Part 3A for help.

1. I usually my sister (cut) my hair for me, she does a decent job of it.

2. I had to my car (service) the other day after it broke down. It cost a fortune!

3. When I was a kid, my mother never me (stay) out past curfew!

4. I was late for school again, so my teacher me (write) 100 lines on the board after
class saying, “I will be on time in the future.”

C. Match idiomatic phrases 1-7 used in Part 2E to definitions a-g.

1. ______ to be lacking (in) a. To be in control of a task or job, to be the leader, to take control.

2. ______ to break out into a cold sweat b. To receive all of the positivity and praise in a situation.

3. ______ to take the reins c. To understand how much you are capable of.

4. ______ to know your limits d. To not have a lot of something.

5. ______ to know your way around e. To feel nervous or worried about doing something.

6. ______ to tackle something yourself f. To try to do something yourself.

7. ______ to get all the glory g. To know something or how to do something well.

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 D. With a partner, discuss the following topics.

1. Something that made you break out in a cold sweat.

2. A time you tackled something yourself instead of getting a professional.

3. A skill you feel is a little lacking.

4. A time you felt confident you knew your way around something well.

4. Let’s Discuss
A survey conducted by an English DIY chain discovered that many young people (under 35)
are lacking key life skills. Look at the results and use them to start a conversation with your
partner or group. Challenge yourselves to keep the conversation going.

1/3 of young adults have to have A quarter of people surveyed said

someone change their light bulbs that they would have to ask someone
because they don’t know how. how to boil an egg. They said it’s
tricky to get it right, as ‘you can’t see
What do you think about this? if it’s cooked.’

Many young people still live with

their parents. This is because of the
high price of housing rent, in the UK.
What age do children leave home in
your country?
23% of young adults said they
couldn’t use a washing machine and
would have to get someone to teach
them.

77% said, they didn’t know how to fix

a bicycle tire puncture themselves Many young adults can’t iron a shirt
and would need to get it done at a or blouse and make their mothers to
bicycle shop. do it for them.
Can you fix a punctured tire?

Do schools in your country teach

Do young people in your country students basic life skills?
know how to cook meals, or do they
eat instant food and get their parents What classes did you take?
to cook all their meals?
If not, why do you think they should?

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 Causative Verbs and DIY
Level: Upper Intermediate: B2, Advanced: C1. Last updated: Mar 16, 2020
Target: Grammar: Understand and use causative verbs, have, make, let and get.
Vocabulary: Use common DIY vocabulary and idiomatic phrases.
Target time: 60-90 minutes.
Overview: Students are introduced to causative verbs: have, get, let, and make, as well as DIY vocabulary and idiomatic
phrases that focus on how to talk about the different things they can and can’t do, things they get others to do,
have done by professionals, let others do, and how things make them feel.

1. WARM-UP 3. CAUSATIVE VERBS: HAVE, LET, MAKE, GET.

In pairs, have students discuss who does these things in their home
or family. Elicit answers from students and share with the class.
2. VOCABULARY FOR DIY
A. Have students read through phrases 1-8 and match the
underline verbs with the definitions on the right. Help students
with new vocabulary and answer any questions that arise.
1. Fix g. To repair something that is broken.
2. Service f. To have an item professionally checked 4. a. have/get something done by someone.
over and approved.
3. Change e. To exchange one item for another
4. Replace h. To put something new in place of have them refer to Part 3A for help.
something old.
5. Decorate a. To add paint, wallpaper or accessories to a
room to change it’s appearance.
6. Put up b. To place items on the wall such as shelves,
curtains and pictures.
7. Put in d. To install appliances or goods.
8. Check c. To look and see everything is correct and lines on the board after class saying, “I will be on time in the
operating normally.
B. In pairs, have students alternate matching the verbs in Part 2A
with the appropriate objects in 1-8 to form DIY collocations. If
students work individually, have them check their results with
a partner or the class once completed. Students should read
all the collocations, not just the verb matched. This will help
students remember verb and object collocations.
1. Service a boiler / a car / a motorbike.
2. Check car oil / a car battery.
3. Decorate a room / an apartment / a house / a tree.
4. Put in a dishwasher / an alarm system.
5. Fix a leak / a computer / the roof of your house.
6. Replace/Change a light bulb / a bicycle tire / a fuse.
7. Put up a shelf / a mirror / a picture.
C. Have students ask their partner 10 questions using ‘Can you...?’
and the DIY collocations in part 2B.
For example, can you change a lock? Yes, I can. No, I can’t.
Remind students to give a point to their partner for everything
they can do.
D. Explain that the quiz and it’s results are intended to be a fun
activity and should not be taken seriously. Ask students to add
up their partner’s score and share it with others in the class.
E. Students should read their results to each other and discuss
the results. Do they agree or disagree? Why or why not? Ask
students to notice the bold and underlined phrases in the text.
These phrases will be referenced in a later activity.
A. Read the English tip with students. Answer any questions that
arise and discuss. Individually, have students complete the table
with the correct verb form. Encourage students to refer to the
bold phrases in Part 2E. Students can compare their answers
with a partner and discuss any differences. Check answers.
1. c. let someone do something.
2. d. make someone do something.
3. b. get someone to do something.
B. Students can alternate completing the sentences in pairs with
the correct form of the verb in brackets. If students struggle,
1. I usually get my sister to cut my hair for me.
2. I had to get/have the boiler serviced the other day after it
broke down.
3. When I was a kid, my mother never let me stay out past
curfew!
4. I was late for school again so my teacher made me write 100
future”.
C. Have students work in pairs and discuss phrases 1-7 used in
Part 2E and then match them to their definitions. Encourage
students to refer to the text in Part 2E to understand context if
necessary.
1. be lacking (in) d.
2. break out into a cold sweat e.
3. take the reins a.
4. know your limits c.
5. know your way around g.
6. tackle something yourself f.
7. get all the glory b.
D. If time permits, students can discuss topics 1-4 and tell their
own stories or share their experiences. Allow students to
continue their discussion for as long as you feel appropriate.
4. LET’S TALK ABOUT IT
If there isn’t enough time to complete this activity, consider using it
at the start of your next class. You might also choose to cut out the
cards and use them as a stand alone discussion activity in another
class. Read the directions with the class. In pairs or small groups,
have students choose a discussion card and read it to their partner,
group, or class. Timer challenge: Challenge students by asking them
to keep the conversation going for three minutes (or more or less,
depending on the class). Use a timer if you think it would motivate
your students.

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